Unidentified flying helicopter

[Pancake]

On Saturday morning, 9am, about 25nm NNE of Alderney en route to Gosport, a helicopter flew straight towards us, and then hovered about 20m off our stern, 20m above the sea for ten seconds or so. It then flew off in pretty much the direction it had come from. It was civil (a 'squirrel' says one of the crew), white with a few red markings.

Any ideas what he was doing? Perhaps we'd been drinking too much sea water...

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[jamesjermain]

Assuming it was not the Coastguard helicopter looking for a candidate to practice Hi-Line rescues (did you have your VHF on), or carring out a routine identification pass for Customs and Immigration purposes, it may have been a yachting photographer up for a general photo-shoot, or just a curious (and rich) MOP (member of the public)

<hr width=100% size=1>JJ

 

[snowleopard]

I hope you\'re a stinkie!!!

a raggie would have been knocked flat!

you didn't by any chance have a scantily clad lovely sunbathing on deck by any chance?

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[Clive_Rigden]

Re: I hope you\'re a stinkie!!!

Couldn't have had - I wasn't out this week-end - shammy leather bikini in for a refit . . .

<hr width=100% size=1>Khyber

 

[gandy]

"Any ideas what he was doing? "

Breaking the law.

He's not allowed to come within 500ft of any "person, vessel, vehicle or structure" except while landing "in accordance with normal aviation practice".

(This often misquoted as a 500ft height limit, but it's the distance from the appropriate objects that is material. He can fly as low as he likes, as long as he's 500ft away from you.)

If you felt strongly, your nearest airport control tower may know who was operating in that area.

Tony S

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[Robin]

This has all the garlicky odour of French Customs to me, we have certainly had them pay close attention to us in that area, could they have been looking to read your boat name and port of registry perhaps?

<hr width=100% size=1><font size=1>Sermons from my pulpit are with tongue firmly in cheek and come with no warranty!</font size=1>

 

[Col]

Better tell that to the 'copter pilot who twice landed on the beach at Priory bay a few weeks ago.

<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/colspics> Cols Picture Album</A>

 

[JackFrobisher]

I saw something very similar. I left Alderney at 7:10 on Saturday en route to the Needles, at 5 knots plus a bit of tide (7.5kn), so I wouldn't have been 25 miles off by 9am, but I did see a helo flying around looking at boats later, at around 10:30 (which fits with your 25 nm off). He didn't look at me but hovered for a while near a yacht that was a couple of miles away to the east, then flew across my bow, a couple of hundred metres away, and looked a a trawler that was to my west. Don't recall which way he went after that.

Odd, most odd.

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